The present invention relates to a device for holding a catheter in place. In particular, it relates to an improved suture tab.
In many medical procedures, catheters are used. A catheter is a tube which extends into a lumen of a patient. In order to prevent catheters from moving around where they exit from a patient's lumen, they are often taped into place. For example, a catheter entering a patient's vein through either a cutdown or by using the Seldinger technique (in which a needle is placed into the patient, followed by a guide wire placed through the needle which is then slid back over the guide wire and replace by sliding the catheter down over the guide wire) in the patient's arm will often be taped in place on the patient. Rather than taping the catheter in place, rubber or plastic devices, called suture tabs which have an opening for a catheter may be used.
A suture tab typically encloses a good portion of a catheter and is then sutured in place with a number of sutures to the arm of the patient where it keeps the catheter stationary. In one suture tab of the prior art, the cross-section of the suture tab is substantially horseshoe-like, i.e., it is shaped like the Greek letter omega (.OMEGA.). Such a suture tab is typically placed over the catheter via the opening at the bottom and then a loop is placed around a portion of the suture tab which is then sutured on either side to the patient's arm. Thus, the application of this suture tab around the catheter and securing it to the patient's arm requires a minimum of three steps, i.e., a suture around the tab to hold it closed on the the catheter followed by the two sutures to the patient's arm.
In view of the desirability to reduce the number of steps required to apply a suture tab and hold it in place, an improved suture tab would be desirable.